Cruel Kisses (It's Just High School #2) - Thandiwe Mpofu Page 0,52

Mia. This is more than that.

“Oh, come on now, Johnny,” Nathan spits, a taunting grin on his face. “She chose me. She chose me over and over again for years.”

The growls that escape dad’s lips is a sound I’ve never heard before, like it’s been trapped inside his soul for a fucking long time and now he’s only going to exorcise his demons and I realize then, he’s going to kill Nathan if we let him.

Looking up at Cole, he nods and we both move at the same time to separate the two. Dad would have to kill Nathan on his own time. I didn’t come here to witness a murder. I need to find my girl first, everything else is secondary that her.

“Dad, stop,” I grit out low in his ear as I pull him off Nathan with considerable effort.

“Yeah, you heard your filthy son,” Nathan taunts, spitting blood, his once slurred speech now a bit more intelligible, like dad knocked around the alcohol in his system.

“Oh, shut the fuck and get the hell out of my house!”

“It’s not your house.”

“I don’t give a damn, if you ever lay a finger on my son or anyone of mine, I swear to God, Nathan, I’ll…”

“You’ll what, asshole?” Nathan shouts back. Dad is tense, watching Nathan with a glare so cold, I wouldn’t want to be on the receiving end of it. “Besides, Johnny boy, what would dear Mommy say?”

Mommy?

I glance up confused, looking between the two men. Liam’s apple drops to the floor and rolls toward my mother who stands silently in the corner, a tight expression on her face.

“Mommy?” Liam questions, now stepping closer to the shitshow. Cole is still holding back Nathan as I am with dad.

“Aw, look at that, John, your disgusting offspring doesn’t know about our beautiful history together.”

“You’re a delusional, pathetic drunk,” Dad spits, pushing out of my hold. “Wherever Mia went, she is far safer and better off without you.”

That enrages Nathan all over again.

“Wherever my daughter went?” he scoffs, shaking off Cole’s hold. “You think I’m stupid? You think I don’t know what he did.”

He points at me as his seedy gaze shifts to look at me. “Look at you, cowering behind your asshole, disgrace of a father who didn’t have a mommy.”

“Ah, come now Nathan, are you still bothered and hurt about that shit?” Dad taunts, the icy tone of his voice making me tense up as I listen to the beginnings of something particularly sinister, the telltale sound of devastation. “You did say it’s our history.”

“Shut the hell up!” Nathan shouts.

“You talk about your mother like she ever gave a damn about you! She never loved you and you know it!”

“Is that why you did it then, huh?” Nathan shouts. “Is that why…”

“I never had to lift a finger with your whore of a mother, Nathan. You know that. Your malignant bloodline knows that too,” Dad seethes. “Now, take your bleeding nose and your busted knuckles out of my damn house. Let me not find you here, ever again.”

“Why the fuck do you think I’m here for? They found her car!”

“What?” I demand, somehow knowing that it’s Mia’s car he’s talking about.

“Don’t you dare ‘what’ me!” Nathan shouts. “You think they wouldn’t find it? You think they wouldn’t find what you did?”

“What in the world are you talking about, Nathan.” Nicky demands, stepping in, a worried look on her face. Nathan turns to look at Nicky, regarding her with a stare that makes her take a step back. Liam’s eyebrow rises, watching the exchange.

“You! You think you can take away what’s mine?” Nathan spits, stumbling over to her but I block him, pushing him backward. “You have no rights! You’re nothing but a whore. Spreading your legs for this devil and now my child is doing the same thing because of you!”

“Nathan, please,” Nicky cries, her voice shaky. “You said they found her car? Where?”

“Yes, out on Route 66 which means they drove her out of town only to ambush her!”

The fuck? Route 66? Why would Mia even go there?

“They found her abandoned car by the side of the road, like someone was chasing her and knocked her car off the road.”

“What?” Nicky cries, but again that high-pitched tone is back.

“Save me your cheap theatrics! You knew what these boys were doing to my daughter. You knew they would take her against her will.”

What the actual fuck is this? A sinking feeling takes root in my stomach as I stare at